Chris Harrison Blogs ‘The Bachelor: Women Tell All’

It’s almost impossible to believe that we are only one week away from the end. It seems like forever ago when Nick stood in front of that mansion and met 29 women — and 1 shark who thought she was a dolphin. The Women Tell All is always one of my favorite episodes because we get to catch our breath and look back at all the things we’ve been through together over the last few months.

Related: ‘The Bachelor: Women Tell All’ Recap: ‘Get Over It’

But first, we got to witness the rest of the overnight dates. The question we were left wondering last week was…well…I’ll let Raven explain that one herself. And the answer…well, I’ll let her explain that, too, when the time is right, but needless to say the date went really well and she went into the rose ceremony beaming.

Rachel’s overnight date was pretty exceptional. Between the cross-country skiing and the reindeer herding they got to spend some time doing, Nick and Rachel really got to cram in an entire Finnish Lapland experience into just a few hours. Rachel has always been open about her skepticism and her reluctance to let her guard down. It was wonderful to see how far she’s come when she finally told Nick that she was falling in love with him. I know how hard it was for her to say and how her biggest fear, the fear of losing something she cared about, was hanging in the balance. But as we saw, between her emotional goodbye and our talk at the Women Tell All, this experience helped Rachel grow, helped her refine what she wanted, and in the end will help her find love when she starts her journey, very soon, as the Bachelorette.

Related: ‘The Bachelor: Women Tell All’ Deleted Scene: Liz Totally is Not Bitter

Vanessa’s overnight date was also remarkably Finnish. One thing we learned in Lapland is that saunas are a very important part of life there. Every hotel room I stayed in there had a sauna in it! It’s really something I miss since being back here. Maybe I should build a sauna? I’ll think about it. But Nick and Vanessa had the full experience, plunging their bodies into the frigid water and then steaming up immediately afterwards. In some ways this feels a lot like their relationship, and I mean that in a good way. Since their first date it’s been full of passion and extreme moments.

Nick cried on their first date. Vanessa cried a day or two after that when talking about Corinne. These two are never short on passion, and that can be a very important building block in a new relationship. It’s not always easy, but it can be crucial.

Saying goodbye to Rachel was difficult on Nick. Beyond his relationship with her, they had a truly strong friendship and mutual respect. Sometimes saying goodbye is harder when you fear also losing the friendship that was the basis for the relationship in the first place. That was the case here. But as we saw at the Women Tell All, the mutual respect and friendship is still there. I hope they’ll both view each other as a productive part of their respective pasts.

The Women Tell All was tremendous this year. I was happy to see Liz use her moment to try and find a message to convey to the world. I was saddened to see Danielle L. still so affected by her departure, but I applaud her for being so open and honest about that. I want to thank Taylor for being so receptive while also not backing down from her convictions. I want to give a big tip of the hat to Kristina for continuing to inspire us with her story. And to Danielle M., Jasmine, Dominique, Astrid, Elizabeth, and all the other women that joined us that night and all season, thank you for coming into this with open hearts and open minds.

And Corinne… well, Corinne will be Corinne, and I think we all love her for that. She isn’t perfect, but she doesn’t claim to be. She is astonishingly and singularly herself, though, and we could all stand to be a little more like Corinne from time to time. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of her and some of our other favorite ladies soon.

Oh, and by the way, Alexis. You’re a shark.

Next week is going to be one of the most exciting live three-hour finales ever, and I can guarantee you that you are going to see something you’ve never seen before during After The Final Rose. You don’t want to miss it.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of The Bachelor for free on Yahoo View.

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